Tiuchendur-Kodaikanal-Pazhani Part-3

 PAZHANI

After we were enjoying the cold weather and mountains of Kodaikanal we headed off to Pazhani. The bus ride from kodai to Pazhani is very blissful. We could see the fog and clouds slowly disappearing as we headed downwards from the hills. The driver for our bus was surprisingly patient and cautious with the roads as it were rocky and also slippery due to the water descending from the hills. The bus took a 10 minute break which was a small tea shop located at one of the roads curves with the backdrop of the shop being an amazing viewpoint of the hills covered in trees and villages and fields beneath those hills.

captured by - @shwetarmanian

After few hours of more bumpy rides we finally reached Pazhani. Even after visiting this place numerous times, it still feels special everytime. Right from being surrounded by lush greenery and hills to friendly people and vibrant streets , it just enhances our spiritual journey.

After a little bit of rest at our hotel which was a modified and modernized renovation of an ancient house that supposedly belongs to one of the royal families and still had the style of traditional architecture, we decided to spend the evening roaming around the local place only to be disappointed due to the never ending rains. This was probably the heaviest downpour I had seen in such a long time. Being located in a hill, the rain water was flowing heavily downwards through the streets. Another day of rainfall could have easily ended up with streets and shops located in the midst of waterfalls. 

hotel "Pattaiah Naidu Palace"
captured by - @shwetarmanian

We proceeded off to the temple next early morning and decided to take the winch to reach temple. Travelling through winch is one of the unique experience about Pazhani. It moves at a very slow rate and as you turn backwards  you can see the visible streets and houses slowly turn into grain sized objects as move higher. You can also the Shanmuga river  flowing in the midst of the town.

street view of Pazhani
captured by - @shwetarmanian

As soon as we landed at the temple premises it was a running race due to place getting more and more crowded. Watching humongous amount of crowds is never surprising when it comes to pazhani as close to lakhs of devotees are said to visiting this place throughout the year irrespective of whether the day is auspicious or not.

We immediately went into the queue that “Rs.100” placard written on it. There are separate and lots of queues based upon the ticket prices. The more you pay , the more visibly clear the sculpture of the main Lord would be. Even after all that , you still have to pull of a lot of tricks and stunts just to get a glimpse of the Lord, if luck plays in your favour.

Once we were done with prayers and offerings, we decided to take a walk around the temple. The view from the top is breathtakingly beautiful and since we are at the top of the hill the pleasant breeze and clear sky adds more essence to the view.

Once we were done looking around, we found ourselves a place to sit and enjoying ourselves with puliyodharai; another amazing thing about visiting temples.

I always find it relaxing whenever I get to sit in a quiet corner of the temple. I completely shut myself off from the chaos happening around. No prayers; no wishes; No thinking about our next plan or what our fate is going to be; just sitting there that moment pass by ; watch people pass by; birds and stray animals lurking around contemplating whether they should interact with humans or not; the rays of the sun hitting the temple towers; the clear blue sky. No one is coming and giving you a solution to your problems or pulling you out of that misery; but something during that moment feels like you have already found the answer or atleast you will sooner or later. Irrespective of one’s belief in the existence of God, spending time inside the temple is always satisfying in a way I might not be able to explain. But as time goes, we humans tend to get even more greedy, selfish and self-centered which also ruins the comfort these spaces used to give which in turn makes me believe that the Lord probably left these places a long time ago and now its just his idol and people who would leave no opportunity left behind to get something they want by using God as a medium. Anyhow I still had a good time in this place as usual and took all the great experiences that came with it.

And this is how my Journey came to an end (for now !). Thank you very much for reading and see you until my next travel diary. 😊

I didn't take a lot of pictures in and around the temple. But I have somewhat tried to capture little bit of the street life in one of my travel videos. Do have a look at it. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLibNUQEtlk